monsbrick

It's February, Happy Valentines Day! May you have joy and love in your life.

Random questions for fellow Swappers: 1) how do you upload photos to add on profiles or comments? 2) what are your favorite Planner apps? Food or recipe online or storage ideas? For meal planning and organizing? And also for sharing? 3) which YouTube videos or producers do you watch? 4) how did you learn your art techniques? 5) where do you find stationery or paper supplies? 6) Do you enjoy Valentine's Day? If so, how do you celebrate it?

I just started working from home. It has been magnificent! I cherish all the extra time to do crafts and write letters.

Nature walks and wandering around trails along barren coastline are what I love. I also adore swimming, dancing, yoga... when I’m not reading, writing, and crafting.

Sunny is our rescue pup. She’s from a local animal shelter, part terrier and part chihuahua. I usually prefer big dogs but she’s a good egg. And pretty smart. She loves stones and rocks like me Sabrina, my step-daughter, and Carl, my husband

I was brought up conservatively and sheltered from all the free love of 1969 and hippie freedom going on around me right here in San Francisco. But I find that I’ve embraced that Bohemian attitude but there’s still an element of conservative structure inside me. So I’m eclectic.

For style, I’ve been experimenting with various art forms and mediums: alcohol inks, acrylic, stamps, art markers, spirograph, fiber art, fabrics, coloring, watercolor, gelatos, chalk paint, collage, and more. I’ve been a repressed artist and I’m letting all of my inner artists out to play.

I swim at dusk since my work schedule switched to earlier. Any time I’m in the water is a good time.

I’ve been in various 12 step groups for recovery, AA, Al Anon, SLAA. I’ve done lots of varieties of therapy and I feel like I still need more but art seems to be my main therapy lately,

Thank you for sharing all of you who have sent notes or mentioned this last paragraph. I don’t feel brave I’m just trying everyday to survive and to be happy!

I haven't met a craft I don't like yet. I have been experimenting. Tell me what inspires your craft or writing. What videos or tutorials do you watch? Where do you get your tools or papers?

The movie, "I Feel Pretty" with Amy Schumer and "Shallow Hal" with Jack Black are a few of my favorites. I'm a big Tony Robbins fan too.

One bad rating or experiences can get me down but I just see us swappers as a whole, connecting to each other and sharing our selves with each other and that makes me happy.

I’m loving the 52 Happiness Lists and related books. I also adore Daphne’s Diary magazine and Bella Grace magazines. They are major inspirations to my soul.

Here’s a list of my favorite authors: Anne Rice; James Baldwin; Sarah Cameron; Jay McInerney; Marion Zimmer-Bradley; Diana Paxson; Ursula LeGuin; Paolo Bacigalupi; Neil Gaiman; Hugh Howey; William Gibson; Neal Stephenson; Banana Yoshimoto; Haruki Murakami; Jim Harrison; Elizabeth Kostova; Eduardo Halfon; Carlos Castanada; Jack Kerouac; Francesca Lia Block; Gita Mehta; Sark; Jon Steele; Jessica Hagedorn.

Non-fiction topics: I listen to cooking & home improvement shows, political shows/watch a lot of news; environmental stuff, travel channel.

Here are authors I read on non-fiction topics: Jack Kornfield, Bob Woodward, Amy Schumer, The Freakonomics anything podcasts, radio hour by Stephen & Steven Dubner & Levitt, Krishna Das also anything, Lon Milo Duquette, Dion Fortune, James Baldwin, John Muir, Oliver Sacks, Tony Robbins, I miss Anthony Bourdain, The Barefoot Contessa, Madhur Jaffery, James Beard, I often read an assortment of non- fiction by authors including Frances Mayes, Angela Duckworth, Tom Peters, Michael Lewis & Michael Pollan.

I'm completely open to what you send. I don't have any specific wishes. Thank you sending anything at all!

I love all colors. Here are a few ideas to throw around: jewel colors like bright vivid purple, red, pink, red.

I love seasonal colors: for Autumn-- pumpkin, cinnamon, cardamon colors.

For the Winter-- sparkling, shimmering, crystals, icing I love all these styles.

For Spring-- pastels and soft colors have been captivating me I love the spring. Rain, thawing snow, little baby leaves and animals.

For Summer, I love tropical colors and also the blue water, the sandy beach, and flowers.

I love Art: Impressionist painters like Monet, Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec. There are so many to list Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Andy Goldsworthy, even Mark Rothko.

And Dada-like the cut out words.

Surrealist Artists such as Magritte and Dali and more.